In the mid 16th century, Zaim Mehmed, a kadi (Ottoman judge) in Herzegovina, received the imperial order to tear down the dilapidated wooden bridge in the small town of Mostar and build a new stone bridge. The construction of the bridge, to the greater glory of Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent, was entrusted to master craftsman Hayruddin, who completed it in 1566, the same year the great Ottoman ruler died.

The bridge of Sultan Suleiman Han, globally better known as the Old Bridge, was destroyed on 9 November 1993 after 64 consecutive direct hits by a tank crew of the Croatian Defense Council. Of the ten bridges that gave the name to the city (“most” means bridge), the Old Bridge was the last one standing.